Ibrahim Ahmad

Ibrahim Ahmad (Alternatively spelled Ibrahim Ahmed or Ibrahîm Ehmed, _ku. Îbrahîm Ehmed, _ar. إبراهيم أحمد, 1914-2000), was a Kurdish writer, novelist and translator. He was born in Sulaimaniya in Iraqi Kurdistan and studied Law at the University of Baghdad, graduating in 1937. From 1942 to 1944, he served as a judge in the cities of Irbil and Halabja. In 1939, he, along with Alaaddin Sajadi, founded the Kurdish literary periodical "Gelawêj". He acted as the publisher and the Editor in Chief of that journal. "Gelawêj" was published until 1949. It was during this period that he became involved in politics. In 1944 he became the head of the local branch of Komeley Jiyanewey Kurd (J.K.) in Sulaimaniya. Subsequently, this branch evolved to serve the entirety of Iraqi Kurdistan. When the J.K. changed its name on the 16th of July 1945, to the Kurdistan Democratic Party (K.D.P.), Ibrahim Ahmad became its chairman in Iraqi Kurdistan. This branch of the K.D.P. published a magazine titled "Dengî Rastî" with Ibrahim Ahmad as editor. After 1947, he became an active member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, and rose to the role of Secretary General of the party in 1953. In 1949, he was sentenced by a special Iraqi court, established by the royalist regime, to two years of prison in Baghdad, and two years of local arrest in Kirkuk. From 1949 to 1956, he served as the editor of the K.D.P's newspaper, "Rizgarî". The party's newspaper was renamed to "Xebat" in 1956 with Ibrahim Ahmed as the editor. In 1964, a political division occurred among the ranks of K.D.P., with Ahmad on one side and Mustafa Barzani on the other. This division lead to the formation of Patriotic Union of Kurdistan in 1975.After 1975, Ibrahim Ahmed emigrated to Britain as a political refugee. Ibrahim Ahmed started writing novels in Kurdish in 1933. This was an important milestone in Kurdish literature. His most important novel is "Janî Gel". It was written in 1956 and is about the Algerian war of independence, with a nod to the Kurdish situation. When selecting this title, Ibrahim Ahmed was playing on the double meaning of the Kurdish phrase which can mean the agony of giving birth to a child as well as the agony of giving birth to a people or a nation. It was translated into Persian and published in Iran in 1980, and into Turkish and French in 1994.

Works

hort stories

His short stories, articles and poems were published in three different magazines: "Gelawêj", "Hawar" and "Jiyan". He has also published many books.

# "Yadgarî Lawan" (Memories of youth), Collection of poem and stories, Baghdad, 1933.
# "Kwêrewerî" (Misery), Collection of short stories, Baghdad, 1959.
# "Bawik û Kur" (Father and son), short story, published in the magazine "Çirîkey Kurdistan", England, 1979.
# "Pirsey Şehîd" (The vigil of martyr), short story, published in the magazine "Çirîkey Kurdistan", England, 1980.

Novels

# "Janî Gel" (The suffering of the people), Novel, 1972, Iraq.
#"Dirk û Gul" (The thorn and the flower), in two volumes, 1991. (written in 1961)
# "Awat û Nahumêdî" (Expectations and Desperation), written in 1933, not been published yet.
#"Herzekarî û Hejarî" (Negligence and Poverty), written in 1972, unpublished.
#"Jiyan û Xebat" (Life and Struggle), written in 1961, unpublished.

Poetry (song)

Poem by: Ibrahim Ahmed
Title: Kurd bon
(text to Wikipedia: Sirwan D.)

Dagîr kerî dil pirr le qîn, dirrindey bê wijdan û dîn
Natiwanî wakey Kurd nebîn
Her Kurd bûyn û, her Kurd ebîn
Her Kurd bûyn û, her Kurd ebîn

Le pêş agir peristî da
Le pêş Mûsilmanêtî da
Le dîlî û le serbestî da
Her Kurd bûyn û, her Kurd ebîn

Na ‘Erabim, na E’ranîm, na Tûrkêkî şaxistanîm
Nek her min xom, mêjûş elê ke Kurdim û Kurdistanîm
Na ‘Erabim, na E’ranîm, na Tûrkêkî şaxistanîm
Nek her min xom, mêjûş elê ke Kurdim û Kurdistanîm
Ke Kurdim û Kurdistanîm

Ne nengîyew ne pîyawetî, ciyawazî netewayetî
Birryarew mêjû dawyêtî
Ke Kurd bîn û, her Kurd ebîn
Ke Kurd bîn û, her Kurd ebîn

Gelan hemû bray minin
Her zordaranim dûjminin
Daway wilatî kes nakem
Pence bo mafî kes nabem
Bo mafî gel û xakekem,
Heta mawim xebat ekem!

Dagîr kerî dil pir le qîn, dirrindey bê wijdan û dîn
Ger Qendîl û Agrî şîrîn Yeksan key legel rrûy zemîn
Natiwanî wakey Kurd nebîn
Her Kurd bûyn û, her Kurd abîn
Her Kurd bûyn û, her Kurd abîn
Her Kurd bûyn û, her Kurd abîn

(Sirwan D: If any errors, feel free to correct!)

Articles

# Ibrahim Ahmad, "The Republic of Kurdistan: A Personal Memoir", in the International Journal of Kurdish Studies, Vol.11, Nos.1-2, 1997, p.19.

References

* [http://64.233.179.104/custom?q=cache:Sgr5EHYtNJUJ:www.kurdmedia.com/reports.asp%3Fid%3D84+Ibrahim+Ahmad&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&ie=UTF-8 The Political and Literary life of Ibrahim Ahmad, KurdishMedia website, April 2000.]
* [http://chris-kutschera.com/A/ibrahim_ahmed.htm Ibrahim Ahmed, The Rebirth of a Kurdish Novelist, The Middle East magazine, November 1996]
* [http://www.bookfinder.com/dir/i/Jana_Gel/918773012X/ Jana Gel, by Ibrahim Ahmad]